Pediatric Program

When Sunnyview Rehabilitation Hospital first opened its doors to the Schenectady community in 1928, children were our only patients.

As the hospital evolved, however, we began to care for people of all ages, serving many different people with a variety of diagnoses and rehabilitative needs.

Sunnyview has "returning to its roots" by establishing a pediatric rehabilitation program, in conjunction with the Capital Region'' tertiary care center, Albany Medical Center Hospital. This unit, which will be dedicated exclusively to children, will offer individualized, state-of-the-art rehabilitation to patients from birth to 18 years.

Sunnyview will provide rehabilitation to children who have a serious illness or who are handling the after-effects of an accident. Such patients may include:

• "Graduates" of a neonatal intensive care unit (with conditions such as low birth weight, under-developed lung function or heart problems)
• Brain injury (oxygen deprivation during the birthing process, following an accident, or prolonged exposure to water or hypothermia)
• Spinal cord injury
• Heart problems (including rehabilitation following a heart transplant)
• Bone and joint diseases (including rheumatoid arthritis, amputations, under-developed limbs, etc.)
• Complex medical problems, such as diabetes, asthma, cystic fibrosis, feeding/swallowing difficulties, neurological impairments (including stroke and myelomeningocele)
• Children who have are recovering from cancer and chemotherapy treatments
• Failure to thrive

Sunnyview's dynamic approach to pediatric rehabilitative care includes the:

• Board-certified physicians specializing in physical medicine, rehabilitation, and/or pediatrics
• Primary nurse practitioner
• Rehabilitation nurses
• Recreation therapists/child life specialists
• Social workers
• Psychologists
• Physical therapists
• Occupational therapists
• Speech, language and hearing therapists
• Registered dieticians

Additionally, for those children who are enrolled in school, Sunnyview has contracted with the Board of Cooperative Education Services (BOCES) to fulfill education requirements.

To be considered for Sunnyview's inpatient pediatric program, a patient must:

• Be medically stable
• Be able to tolerate at least three hours of therapy daily
• Need multi-disciplinary evaluation and treatment which cannot be met through outpatient or in-home therapy

Sunnyview's pediatric professionals collaborate with family members, teachers, and primary physicians to help integrate the child's individual therapy program into activities of daily living. This approach helps the child to make the often difficult transition back to the home and school settings.